But the HTML5 video element has yet to live up to its full potential, because a dispute over video encoding has prevented the standard from being implemented consistently across all Web browsers. Mozilla, which has long resisted adoption of H.264 on ideological grounds, is now preparing to support it on mobile devices where the codec is supplied by the platform or implemented in hardware.
The popular H.264 format is widely viewed as the best technical choice for encoding Internet video, but its underlying compression technologies are covered by a wide range of patents. This has raised the question of whether its appropriate for a standards-based Web technology to rely on a patent-encumbered video format that requires publishers and software implementors to pay licensing fees.
Mozilla reconsiders H.264 support for mobile devices
Posted on Wednesday, March 14 2012 @ 12:27 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck